Beware the analogue TV 'bargain'

[gabriel]

According to a recent parliamentary report plenty of consumers are still buying TVs that will effectively be using redundant technology in a few years' time.

50% of TV sets sold in 2007 were analogue, which is due to be replaced by digital technology on a region-by-region roll-out throughout the UK by 2012. (Some regions have already gone digital.)

The good news is that you will still be able to use an analogue TV after the switchover is complete, but you will need to buy an extra bit of kit to convert the signal. This costs around £25.

So, as long as you don't mind using old technology, and you were able to buy the analogue TV for a knockdown price, maybe it'll turn out to be a decent bargain after all.

[Paul Carcone]

We are still seeing a discounted TV market after the manufacturers and retailers failed to clear the HD ready devices after the Football World Cup! There are still excellent discounts to be had across the board and I think that the serious haggler will be able to achieve a significant sum off the cost of even a digital set.

[Tony]

The fact that a television has an analogue tuner rather than a digital tuner is irrelevant for most people as they will often be using external Sky boxes or Personal Video Recorders. The terrestrial Freeview picture quality is absolutely terrible compared to Sky and I guess Freesat, although I haven't seen that in person.

Tony